"I assisted in giving a lecture on “The Physics of Climbing” as part of the Aspen Science Center family picnic at the Physics Center...Not only did I think this a wonderful initiative. I wish that things like this had been available to me when I was a child, but I was also delighted that several of the children came up to me afterwards to ask me about what a physicist actually does, and how they might pursue it as an eventual career. They were also very keen to hear about the LHC experiment at CERN where I work. In my opinion, initiatives such as these, which aim to get young children interested in science from an early age, represent the best possible hope for the future of science."

Kids Do Science



The Cafés and Barbecues are co-hosted with the Aspen Science Center

2013 Physics Cafés

4:30 pm Wednesdays (one Tuesday) in the Mezzanine at the Wheeler Opera House, preceding our Physics Lectures
  • January 9 - Biophysics
  • January 16 - Condensed Matter Physics
  • January 22 (Tuesday) - Astrophysics/Pulsars
  • January 30 - Astrophysics/Dark Matter
  • February 6 - Particle Physics/Neutrinos
  • February 13 - Astrophysics/Exoplanets
  • March 13 - Particle Physics/Higgs

Radio Physics on KDNK

Click the Radio Physics link on the left to learn more about our collaboration with KDNK Radio and high school physics students from Rifle to Aspen.

2013 Summer Kids' Barbecue and Physics Talk Schedule

5:00-6:00 pm Food and Experiments
6:00-6:30 pm Physics Talk

From the end of June to the middle of August, Wednesday afternoons at the Physics Center are devoted to kids.

We're often asked if a child is too young or too old for our Wednesday afternoon picnics held on our campus. Kids of all ages show up. Sometimes four-year-olds are the ones asking the challenging questions at the physics talk that follows the picnics and sometimes the four-year-olds are still floating boats down the ditch and not attending the talk. High school kids may not be shooting off the rockets before the talk, which starts at 6 pm, but they can enjoy a hamburger and should feel engaged in the science once the talk begins. Maybe a short chat with a physicist after the talk will turn a young girl's dreams toward the stars or a young man's thoughts toward quarks.

The Aspen Science Center initiated these picnic/talks and continues to produce the fun and the food every week. We appreciate their partnership in creating a fun family venue where our physicists can educate and inspire tomorrow's scientists.